Bearing assemblies, such as roller or ball bearings, are typically placed between a fixed member and a rotating member. For example, a roller bearing is placed between a shaft that rotates and a housing that remains stationary. The bearing must be securely and properly fitted either to the fixed or rotating member. The clearance between the bearing and the shaft when the bearing is properly positioned is referred to as a press fit or interference fit, as is known in the art.
One common use for ball bearings and tapered bearings is automobile transmissions. Bearings used in automobile transmissions must achieve a press-fit around the distal end of a long shaft. Because the clearance between the bearing and shaft is minimal, the bearing does not easily slide onto the shaft and must be forcibly positioned.
The conventional way of installing the bearings on a transmission shaft involves first placing the bearing on the proximate end of the shaft and gently tapping, for example with a roll punch and a hammer, the bearing into place. Generally, the roll punch is positioned at a point on the outer race of the bearing and the hammer strikes the base of the roll punch. Because tapping exerts pressure only on one point of the bearing, however, the bearing tends to slide along the shaft only at that point. The bearing must therefore be tapped on other perimeter points of the outer race to coax the bearing into place. Accordingly, repeatedly tapping around the perimeter is necessary until the bearing is seated correctly in its position. Unfortunately, this process can lead to witness marks, chips, or cracks around the race of the bearing wherever the bearing was tapped, which would prevent one or more of the balls or rollers from rolling smoothly. Further, when a shaft is contained within a large housing, it can be difficult to squeeze the punch tool and hammer into the housing to position the bearing.
Alternative methods of coaxing a bearing into place have been tried, but each method requires numerous tools specific to the shaft or bearing being installed, which is cumbersome to store. It would be desirable therefore to have a universal bearing installer capable of seating different types and sizes of bearings around different sizes of shafts. It would be particularly desirable to have a universal tool capable of installing both non-tapered and tapered bearings.
One object of the present invention is to provide a universal tool capable of installing both tapered bearings and non-tapered bearings by changing minimal tool components and without requiring duplicate cumbersome components for each type or size of bearing. Another object is to provide a universal tool capable of adapting to be used with unusually long shafts. Yet another object is to provide a universal tool capable of adapting for use with a machine press, such as a hydraulic press or pneumatic press.